First Steps
by Predicted Anomie
Summary: Finn has trouble with all the rules of dancing with Rachel, so he goes to Kurt for help. Kurt shows him how to dance like you're supposed to.


A/N: This is my first fic. When OrangeAnimals posted their "ballroom dancing" prompt, I wanted to respond because I have experience with teaching ballroom dancing and I wanted to try writing about it. So I subjected you all to this! Aaaaand here we go! EDIT: I fixed a problem with the fic that MorganD pointed out. Apparently I thought that Finn's dad left them and completely forgot about the Desert Storm thing. I am a crazy person.

Dancing is not easy. There are steps and rhythms and patterns and movements, and they all go in a precise order, and they all have their places and each one must be perfectly executed, and perfectly performed. People spend years-decades, even, learning how to dance properly. There are entire shows dedicated to watching people dance, and then judging how they performed. There are people whose job it is to dance-and not just the erotic kind, either. It is silly and stupid to think that dancing was easy, that anyone could do it, that it just flowed.

Finn Hudson was one of the people for whom dancing was not possible, not considerable, and apparently Rachel Berry agreed. The Glee club's latest assignment was ballroom dancing, and naturally Rachel was partnered with Finn. Unfortunately, this was perhaps the least natural partnership: Rachel had an obsessive _need_ to perform. Finn could live without, to be honest. If tomorrow Glee shut down completely and he never got to perform again, he would live. Sure, he'd be bummed about it, probably pretty angry and pissed at whoever's dumb ass got Glee shut down. Slash some tires, maybe. But he'd live. It wouldn't shatter him. Losing his dad-knowing him, hanging out with him, and then watching him drive off and never, ever come back, and that shattered him. Something like that toughens you up. It makes you strong and it makes you mature. It makes you grow up and makes you realize that the small things don't really matter, it's the big things that you have to worry about, like your parents leaving you or finding out a baby who you were absolutely in love with and had big plans about becoming the best dad in the whole goddamn world because by God, you were gonna do your dad right and be the best man you could possibly be because Dad would have wanted you to and then having those plans completely fall apart because the baby isn't even remotely yours, not even a little bit. He knew what was big and what was small, and as far as he was concerned, this was small. He wasn't the sharpest nail in the shed, but he wasn't panicky. Rachel Berry was panicky. Rachel Berry needed to perform, and perform well. If she wasn't theatrical, if she didn't have people impressed and watching what she could do, she didn't really have anything. Finn was not a dancer by nature or nurture, and that was completely and utterly unacceptable.

"You missed the turn again! How are we ever going to ballroom dance like this? What if we're invited to a presidential gala and we're expected to dance formally and we can't because you can't remember what order the steps go in or how to do them? Everyone at the gala would laugh at us! We'd be on the news: 'Worst Dancers Ever Shame America!' Our black president would cry, Finn! Is that what you want? Do you want our first black president to cry and have his whole legacy revolve around our terrible dancing? Why can't you do this?" Rachel was in hysterics. Which is to say, she was being Rachel.

But Finn was a nice guy, or at least he thought. He wasn't perfect or Superman or Jesus by any means, of course. He had done some pretty bad stuff, but he at least tried to make up for it. He called Kurt a fag-he had never said that literally, but he understood what was said. But he made up for it. He spent hours-_hours_ on that dress. He researched outfits. He made a dress! He wore a dress! And not because he really liked Lady Gaga at all (okay, so some of her songs were catchy but come on) but because he knew it would mean something to Kurt. He did all of that work, went to school in it which he knew very well would completely and utterly sacrifice his reputation, all because he was an asshole. He didn't care about getting kicked out. He didn't care if he had to live on the street. He did it because he made another human being-Kurt, feel bad. He sewed that shower curtain-dress happily, and he'd sew and model an entire fashion line of shower curtain-dresses if Kurt hadn't been a great guy and forgave him. (Okay so Kurt made him make a smaller dress for him, but still.) Finn was a nice guy and wanted people to be happy. And if his utter lack of proper dancing skills were making Rachel unhappy, well then it was his job to learn how to dance. So that was why he was asking Kurt for help. Because, in the immortal words of Mercedes, "Aint nobody move like my boy!"

Kurt, of course, was happy to help. They were meeting at their scheduled time and place, and Kurt was only to excited to begin. He was wearing some Alexander Wang ensemble ("Anna Wintour loves it, and she and I are on the same page. She is such an absolute bitch, and she's not afraid to tell it like it is. I'm gonna have her job one day.") Finn, to his credit, did not laugh at the name "Alexander Wang" and so they began their lesson.

"In the Tango, you don't really lead with your hands, unlike the Waltz or the Foxtrot or Swing. You lead with your legs," Kurt told him, as he closed the space-_all of the space_ between Finn and himself. Finn could feel Kurt's body pressed up against him and it felt warm and small and kind of weird, but that was okay. It was just Kurt and Kurt was helping him and if this was the way to dance the Tango properly, then this was the way they were going to do it.

"A good partner," Kurt explained, "doesn't need to take control, that's your job, Finn. The man's part is the frame and the woman's part is the picture. You lead and I'll follow. Whatever you do, I'll do my counterpart. Start whenever you're ready"

"But what order are we doing it in? And how am I supposed to do the turns and whatever?" Finn replied, confused. His entire problem was that he didn't _know how to lead _or take control. That was why he went to Kurt in the first place. Dancing was complicated and hard and Kurt was just throwing him right into it.

Kurt sighed. This was the faux-diva's doing. Fauxva, if you will.

"Finn, it doesn't matter what precise order the steps are, only that you tell me where you're going. You can do whatever you want when you dance, just keep in time with the rhythm. Just tell me what to do or where to go with your body, and I'll understand. A good partner lets you lead properly. A good partner lets you be comfortable, have fun. That's what dancing is."

So Finn started moving, and true to form, Kurt felt the movements and felt where Finn was going, and it was actually fun. He wasn't constantly having to think about what he was going to do next, or what steps go where or when, he just felt the music in his head and in his body and he responded, and Kurt responded to his response. It felt natural and nice and he was comfortable-actually comfortable-doing the Tango with Kurt, in a way that he didn't feel comfortable with Rachel. He didn't have to think about it and that improved his dancing. He felt the steps coming and the movements felt right. He leaned back, and Kurt wrapped his leg around his left, and nodded. Finn held on to Kurt's back and dipped to the side and Kurt just smiled and said "You're great at this" and Finn beamed, positively beamed.

They moved around the room and Kurt offered some suggestions for the "formal steps" but aside from that, he let Finn have fun with them, and Finn actually enjoyed dancing for what was probably the first time in his life.

Dancing is not something you can do alone. You need a partner to compliment you. You need a partner that knows you, who knows how to move and who you are and what you do. You need a partner that will counter your actions and let you move how you want, or pressure you-not force, but lead gently and softly when you go astray. You need a partner that lets you be free, that lets you move to the music how you want to, how your soul wants to. Dancing is not hard. Dancing, like life, is simple. All you really need to perform like a star is a good partner and a smile on your face.

Finn knew, deep in his heart, that Kurt was a great partner. Probably the best he ever had. Kurt let him be free and made him comfortable and he didn't have to try so hard with Kurt. And maybe Rachel wasn't really a good partner.

Finn made a decision, and it was scary. But if I can teach you anything, dear readers, its that you will never be a great dancer if you're not brave enough to take a risk or two with your dancing. And Finn was well on his way to becoming a great dancer.

_A/N: So that's that. I hope you enjoyed it and if you didn't well that's okay too._


End file.
